Original scientific paper

Psychic Suffering among Expelled and Refugee Children

Josip Anić ; Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia
Sonja Podgorelec ; Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Negative emotional reactions, based on cognitive evaluation of individual war danger, appeared in the surveyed displaced and refugee children still while they were at their home and continue to show up during their exile. The most evident emotional disturbances are expressed in the constant feeling of tension, listlessness, withdrawal into oneself, apathy. Displaced children show the majority of these hardships more explicitly than refugee children. This is understandable with regard to the variety of main sources of fear of the formers and the latters (plane attacks and air alarms, burning of housing and farm buildings in comparison to disturbed news of mass media). Age, sex and length of the children's refugee status also distinguish the perception of danger and children's emotional and behavioural reaction to it. Significant connection between children's self-discovered emotional changes and parents' statements about them was established. Yet, most parents consider the children's acute disturbances to disappear without almost any serious permanent consequences and, in this respect, the boys are more risky group than the girls.

Keywords

expelled children; refugee children; psychic suffering; emotional changes

Hrčak ID:

127278

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/127278

Publication date:

31.12.1992.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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